With the FirstBuy assistance scheme grabbing the property headlines recently in England and Wales, the Scottish Government has also introduced its own version of the shared equity model aimed at first-time buyers. The New Supply Shared Equity with Developers scheme offers £8 million in loans to individuals on low and moderate income, who are otherwise unable to purchase their first new-build home in Scotland.
Under the scheme, the Government and housing developer jointly provide a 10-year interest-free loan to the buyer, reducing their deposit and mortgage requirements to an affordable level. This sum should be paid back in full by the homeowner at the end of the ten-year period or when the property is sold, whichever is sooner. To date, 16 housebuilders and housing associations have signed up to the scheme, including Persimmon Partnerships, Cruden Group, and Highland Housing Alliance.
Some 27 first-time buyers are due to be helped onto the property ladder with the NSSE with Developers initiative at Bellway Homes' Eastfields development in Glasgow
The largest project is for 27 properties at Eastlands, a Bellway Homes development of new homes in Glasgow‘s East End. However there is no minimum size for the allocation, with the smallest being a single property at Ailsa Gardens in North Ayrshire by Persimmon Homes.
Bellway has already assisted 20 first-time buyers in purchasing one- or two-bedroom apartments at Eastfields in Carntyne, a district in the east of Glasgow. Here, a one-bedroom property could cost as little as £53,000 up-front under a 60%/40% shared equity deal, against a full price of £86,995.
A number of new developments have already been planned for the East End of Glasgow ahead of its role as the home of the Athlete’s Village at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
by What New Homes team
Posted by annemcdonald 
